J.P. Morgan Scouts Bear’s Tokyo Operations
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. has begun examining the operations of Bear Stearns Cos. as far away as Asia, raising questions about what the two firms will look like when combined.
On Monday, Gregory Guyett, J.P. Morgans top man in Japan, visited Bear Stearns offices in Tokyo, according to several people at Bear. A handful of other top J.P. Morgan staff also traveled across town to meet with Bear employees and begin determining how an integration of the two companies might happen in Japan, the people said.
While no decisions have been made, the two firms have considerable overlap, leading some to believe a fair number of Bear employees will be let go. That’s because Bear, which has a little more than 200 people in Tokyo, focuses on fixed-income, an area where J.P. Morgan already has a substantial presence.
Last year, J.P. Morgan was the 15th busiest bond underwriter in Japan, involved in deals worth a total of $2 billion, according to data tracker Dealogic. Bear didn’t make the list. J.P. Morgan is also a member of Japans primary dealership — the 26 banks and brokerage firms that participate in each auction of government bonds. Bear isn’t.
The uncertainty appears to have given already-aggressive headhunters an open license to solicit resumes from Bear employees, according to several people at the firm. They say the firm’s phones have been ringing as recruiters try to find anyone who might be thinking about jumping ship. Some particularly brazen headhunters are dialing the first four digits of Bear’s phone number, followed by four random numbers. “When someone picks up, the headhunters say, What department is this? Who am I speaking to?,’” one bemused Bear employee reported.
–Andrew Morse in Tokyo
